GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Besting more than 600 teams from around the world, West Catholic High School's Enigma 2075 robotics team returned to class this week with medals around their necks and heads held high after taking fourth place in a worldwide competition over the weekend.
"We are in an area where there's a lot of teams that are great," Enigma team member Will Clancy said. "So, it was not as much of a step up in the competition, in a way as much as it was just the experience of knowing that you've made it and you're one of the top teams in the whole world."
Taking part in the competition organization known as For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), the Enigma team is made up of students from schools across the area.
"So, like, we know each other," team member Dabin Lee said. "But at first, it was also like we had to kind of become friends."
Piloting their robot into one of the top spots in the world, Lee and her teammate Violet Appel said their journey through district, state and world matches brought the team together through coordination and hard work.
"I think that small team allows us to really to get to know each other and to really become friends," Appel said. "Because, I feel like we're a big family, kind of tied together. We really get to know each other."
Members said Enigma has spent years competing in FIRST, having been created in 2007.
"Early on, we were not even getting to the state competition," Enigma coach Paul Dressel said.
Having coached the team for the last ten years, Dressel noted the effort the team put in along the way.
"The students in a collaborative way have worked with each other to improve each other challenge each other," Dressel said.
It's a journey that team members said is far from over.
"In future seasons, we're just gonna try to build more robust robots that we think can be faster and do faster cycles, and then also trying to improve our driving," team member Quinn Stephenson said.
"We're also planning to try to have a better system with what we're doing," team member Noah Dressel said.
"I think, now we see our potential, how far we could go and how good we can be," Lee said. "So, I think now like we were thinking we can set a little higher goal, and then we can do a little better next year. I think it also motivates us for next year."
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